Verified reviews
Every review below was written by a student who took a course with Almaoasis.
4.83
Specialization
Alma Oasis was created in 2023, brought to life from the shared vision of two individuals captivated by the beauty and mystery of daily life but also by the climate problems and unmet solutions in our society. Our vision is to inspire the environmentally curious and encourage change in individual behaviors to have a positive impact on the earth, however large or small. ‘Alma’ means the soul, reflecting the essence of our being and ‘Oasis’ signifies a flourishing ecosystem in an otherwise arid world. Together, Alma Oasis represents the harmonious coexistence of the human spirit and nature, a place where individuals learn to thrive on a constantly evolving planet.
The all can be challenging
The rating 3/5 stars is based on my experiences. I have a slew of conditions hindering me from getting the most out of this - none of it is a reflection on the course itself. I'm actually extremely interested in the course, however, as a recovering alcoholic addict with ADHD (wrongly medicated but working on that) I find myself struggling to get through the presented material. Due to years of self medicating (marijuana/booze) and retreating into video games, while simultaneously existing at the lowest economic level possible before outright homelessness... I've gone from a high markng, creative student in grade school to barely being able to comprehend basic language. I struggle to remember even single words ("erythrocyte") long enough to type them into google to find out their meaning. I forget important things immediately - and I mean "important to me," which is usually a strong point with ADHD! I *want* to do this course and still find myself struggling to sit through a single module while medicated - I've been unable to do so unmedicated. The pills I'm currently on are the stimulant variety, which have a hell of a comedown at the end of the day. Frankly, I find myself at odds taking a mind altering substance in order to learn a discipline declaring superiority to medications. (Qoute: "nature goes a long way towards reducing stress levels and is far more effective than medication." (refuted by google ai, btw)) All that said, however, I have had some enormous break throughs by practicing the concepts presented here. It gives me great hope that I can help myself, and further, help others, through Sylvotherapy. For the first time in a LONG time I'm excited for the future. Things that would have sent me into a downward spiral even a month ago, now invigorate me! For instance: The costs involved (insurance, first aid kit, brochures, website, etc, etc.) I would have balked at the idea of continuing, yet now, they lead me into exciting rabbit holes of discovery. I've been fighting extremely negative self talk for decades, and it continues to haunt me, so I've been clinging to the very real benefits I've culled from my Sylvotherapy sessions. I sat with a Beech, fully hugging it for some time, when I felt an invitation from a copse of trees behind us. Just before entering the circle I was gifted a most unique piece of wood! I am, or intend to be, a wood artist - I have dozens of staff and cane woods drying in the basement. This copse has talked to me since, asking me to remove deadfall from the surrounding trees. I also had a spectacular OM meditation under a mighty old oak. I've made interesting discoveries concerning local peliated woodpeckers and how they 'farm' insects. As far as the course itself: Accessability is it's main drawback. I find the brightness difficult to contend with - a dark mode would aid tremendously. Also, embedded links and sources! I find myself googling a great deal of the content for better understanding (or any at all sometimes!) Video presentations could make a huge impact as well. For these reasons, the course itself is 4/5 stars.
keep getting errors and have to back track long delays for responses
I have enjoyed learning something new that I am also passionate about. I do wish the course material was more detailed and a little more descriptive. I feel as though some of the modules don’t account for novices
The information provided is balanced and takes a holistic approach which I appreciate. I only found myself in disagreement once and the quizzes are always helpful at highlighting the important information. I also wish there were more worksheets, planning documents for practical assignments.
The understanding and knowledge and concepts are really important but the material is very dated and culturally narrow. The format is very lack luster which I forgive but it does make it slow going. More graphics and illustrations and even some animations would help a lot.
Getting a little better but still, It’s liked reading a that lacks depth. It’s regurgitated info and sentiments about the world’s problems. Longing for deeply applicable wisdom, guidance, plans… more of the specifics from decades of experience and less of the same old philosophically and idealistic narratives
Interesting and well-structured content with good practical application. Adding videos would be a great improvement, and the manual could benefit from more detailed information or an expanded explanation of the video content.
Has interesting info, but seems to jump around....not super cohesive or well organized. It will reference plants/ideas in answers and on tests that were not mentioned earlier. Strange.
Interesting, would have had more sources
I took the Sylvotherapy Practitioner Certification Course. For an introductory course it was a good value at 70% off but I have several caveats. This is an introduction only and as such I was bothered by the last module focusing on how to advertise and start up a business. You could quite literally be incapable of identifying any tree species in your area before setting up a business. I feel it would have been much more efficient to focus on the role a guide takes and how to facilitate sessions with a diverse population of clients, what being trauma informed means, practicalities of running courses in the woods, off trail, on trail, on public land, on private property, etc, the importance of first aid training, the importance of indigenous local to you tree and forest lore, safe foraging protocols...I could go on. Give us fully cited readings and a bibliography of books to read early on in the course. A lot of the info is from books over 20 years old and/or problematic books that have been challenged both scientifically and by Indigenous communities. The last module really should have laid out the areas that people needed to address as continuing education before they started selling their services. There's a valid reason why without the educational credentials you can't touch the term "therapist" where I live and this will not qualify you to use it. Still with my own background as an educator, with art therapy trainingm and as a wildcrafter with over 30 years experience I did get ideas about transforming my outdoor forest school experiences into things I can share multi-generationally as well as with people in hospice which is what I wanted to be able to do.
I find it frustrating when things are referenced but not described. An example would be the meridians. If it is important enough to include, then there should be more information. The exhaustive list of meridians without any diagrams renders it useless. Are we supposed to memorize all of the names, but not know where they are? If someone hasn't done a lot of study already, several of the references don't mean anything. The course should be fully self-contained, which means I don't have to consult other resources to understand what is presented.
Lots a good information for plant references, but not what I was expecting. I expected more information/guidance on setting up and delivering a forest therapy session.
Course ties a lot of techniques together, buy more importantly the philosophy behind is more important, sadly our municipal and other codes prevent a lot of progress to a sustainable living. Need more political change to move away from capitalist ideology.
The content in this course is great. I expected to have videos with instructors teaching, using powerpoint and other media. This course is presented via PDFs that you can read or listen to audio of someone reading it. So, it is a little dry / boring from that perspective.
Loads a bit slow on my phone
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